Padsalgikar Is No More

N.V. Padsalgikar, the celebrated chess organiser from Sangli in south Maharashtra passed away this morning at Sangli in Maharashtra. He was 90. 

Padsalgikar was noticed dead at 6.30 a.m. on Sep 7, 2009. His doctor told Manuel Aaron that he should have passed away at about 4 a,m in the morning. In the last one year he was not keeping very good health and was using the services of a Pace Maker.

Padsalgikar was a chess player, born in a chess family. He started many new tournaments in Sangli which had an existing chess culture. His father was a chess player and also organiser.  Every chess player from India including Viswanathan Anand had visited Sangli for chess. Padsalgikar singled out in his humbleness and simplicity. In the 1977 event I saw him riding a bicycle around in Sangli and to the chess venues.

Joseph D'Souza, Chairman of Central Maharashtra Chess Association said he was the only organiser in any sport to receive all the three awards of Jeevan Gaurav, Dadoji Konddev and Shiv Chhatrapati from the Government of Maharashtra.

Padsalgikar is called Bhausaheb. He had encouraged Bhagyashree Sathe (later Bhagyashree Thipsay), Swati Ghate, Ashwini Pachapurkar and the Jahagirdars all who came from Sangli before making it well known. Padsalgikar was one of the founders of the Maharashtra Chess Association and also served as its Secretary sometime.

All the FIDE Rated events of Sangli were organised by Padsalgikar. In the last ten years, in addition to the summer events of Sangli they also had the winter events which did plenty of service for Indian chess and chessplayers.

He is survived by his son Dr Krishna Padsalgikar, a pharmacist and four daughters. Dr Mali, the medical doctor of Nutan Buddhibal Mandal said that his family members are unlikely to continue the chess work which Padsalgikar and his father did in the the last century